Selah // Something Witty

If only I'd thought of the right words.

Date: 10.17.18 -- Day 100 ("30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  -- Day 17)
Music: "Picture of You" / The Cure

Prompt -- Share a list of your top 5 favorite books and give us a short blurb on each.

So I wrote a list quick list of all the favorites I could remember off the top of my head, and then I randomly selected five because I hate having to choose. Also, there's the whole overthinking problem. Here are my random five favorites.

In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

I read this book in junior high. There was just something mesmerizing about the characters, and that is was written about a group of sisters made it that even more interesting. This is historical fiction, taken from the history of th uprising against the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Alvarez has a wonderful style of writing that sweeps you along as the story unfolds. It was also a reminder that activists are real people; being someone who leads a revolution or protests against injustice does not keep you from being flawed individuals. In that way, it made the story more compelling because it highlighted for me that making significant change does not mean being virtuous beyond belief. Each of the Mirabal sisters was complex and their relationships to each and those around them during a turbulent time all the more complicated and fascinating. Not a feel-good read, but recommended if you don't that.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Most people, if not into science fiction, know this book as the movie Blade Runner. Dick is one of my favorite writers as reading his works forces me to shift the focus of my brain when understanding what's happening. With Electric Sheep, you're left with all of these potentially earth-shattering answers, and it is really up to the reader on how they want to interrupt the end. What does it mean to have humanity? What does it mean to have mortality? Does this all depend on how we're taught, what we're told? (S/N: I wasn't a fan of the sequel to Blade Runner, but that's a different post.)

Bone Black: Memories of Childhood by bell hooks

This was one of the first books I read in college for an anthropology class. hooks has a such a lyrical way of writing, and I instantly fell into the way she assembled these short memories of her childhood. Some stories were in a surreal light and some stark shadow. It was a profound experience reading this book. I was left speechless afterward. Whenever I need to step out of my mess of a brain, I re-read this and get wrapped up in her words again.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I read the translation of this novel my senior year of high school. It came as a recommendation from principal. Upon finishing, I sat in the corner of my room, a bit stunned, and just stared into the abyss for an hour. This book shook me. There was something about this world that Zafón created that I didn't want to leave even though it was not a cool. It gave me inspiration to try my first NaNoWriMo. I think I'm mentioned surrealism a bunch in this post, but that's what this novel was -- magical surrealism. I wanted to walk the hall of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, even knowing what could happen to my life if I did. The other books in this series are wonderful too, but this novel was the first to drag me into its world.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This was a book given to me by my father. It was quite emotional read as Coates was able to talk about things that seem somewhat unapproachable within my own family. How race and socialization play keys roles in how one approaches life around them, and how to undo those things that have brought harm or pain. His honesty and the way he was able to weave this biography was enthralling. It was easy to picture is life, from childhood to college to parenthood. It was like walking along side him as he took this stroll down memory lane. This is the book I go back to when I need clarity. It's also why I was so stoked that he wrote the screenplay for Black Panther, and fell in love with the movie.